Loading or boxing apparatus



Filed vA'pril 5. 1929 w. H. BROKS ET Al.

LOADING OR BOXING APPARATUS Aug. 23, 1932.l

Aug. 23, 1932. w. H. BROOKS E'r AL LOADING 0R BOXING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 -Filed April 5, 1929 Aug. 23, 1932. w. H. BROOKS ET Al.

yLODING OR BOXING APPARATUS v Filed April 5, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Allg- 23, 1932- l' w. H. BROOKS ET AL l 1,873,868

"LOADING OR BOXING APPARATUS Filed April 5. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Wa fer Page Patented Aug. 23, 1932 UNiTEnsTEs PATENT orifice 7 WILLIAM n. Bnooxs, or] ocoNo'i/rowoo, ',wrscoivsiir, AND WALTER PAGE', or e' NEW YORK; N, x.'

LOADING on BOXING ririfirneirusl Appiicatin'aiea Aprile, 192e; 'seriai No. 352,637.

This invention relates to improvements in t' especially aA loading =or boxing apparatus, machine fordelivering sealed vessels,

such

as cans and the like to boxes or cases in which A A furtherobject ofthe invention is to pro- 15 Vide aboxing machine which is simple but strong infconstruction, vefficient in use, and

capable of perfect control, so that it`can be A kept running, or stopped at any instant, in case of a mishap, to lprevent scoring, denting 20, or crushing the cans,

the parts of the apparat-us.

Another object of the invention is to pro-kr vide a boxing device designed to receive the cans in multiple lines, stopping the influx of 25 the cans periodically and delivering apredetermined number to thebox or casing, and

then permitting the feeding of the cans into the machine to be resumed and to continue until the next box isput in place for the 30 cans to be moved into it. Y j Y ,The nature of the invention will appear from the following description taken with the` accompanying drawings, illustrating a preferred form of the invention. VThe disclosure, however, is -explanatorylonly and changes may bernade in the' shape, size and arrangement of parts and other details without going beyond thel principle of 'the invention or exceeding the scope thereof as the same is indicated bythe broad, general meanings ofthe terms in which the appended claims are expressed. t

On the drawings, Y v

Fig. 1 is a, side view of machine accordf ing tomy invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan of same;

50` Fig. 6 is a view ofva detail;

or breakage of any of lmight occur.

l upright bars j in line with Fig. 3 is a sectiongon the line 3--3 of Fig. 1

f. Fig. 7 shows a view similar to Fig. 5 with the parts in a different operative position l Fig. 8 is avsectional view on theline8-8 in Fig. 5

v `Figl 9 is a detail showing how the niein-Y i bers presented in Fig. 8 are caused to oper'- atev f On the drawings the same numerals identify the same parts throughout.

In the particular description of what the drawings set forth I use the numeral lvto in-k dicate the top, table, platform or base of the` machine which is supported by legs 2 at one end and legs 3 atthe other. On this platform above the legs 2, I show a receiving chute l for the cans which are fed' into the machine; andadjacent the other extremity ofl the platform is an upright stop or riser 5 which. cooperates with an upright part 6, adjacent the middle of the machine and separated from the stop 5 by a space substantially equal to the length of the box or case into which thel cans are'loaded. Attachedto the rear of thepla'tform 1 are two supports 7 whichproject out horizontally from the top 1 and are channeled along their inner faces to mount a slidable frame 8. This frame is designed to be actuated to engage the cans in position between the stop 5 and upright 6 and pushthem jtoward'the' oppo site or Vfront side of theinac'hine; where thereare a pair of arms9 secured to the platform 1'A and projecting out horizontallyV to provide a rest on iwhich the boxes or cases to be filled are successively placed. The pushing of the cans forward between the stop 5 and lipright 6 vis intermittent, and whenever thisA stepis performed, the cans which are fed into the machine must be ypresented from moving into the space between the stop 5 and member 6;.'or damage tothe labels of the cans and vother injury to the exterior :thereof For this purpose I utilizel a number of bladeslO whichI are mounted on 11 at ythe back of the machine the member 6. To the top of this ,iii-ember I may atlix. a guideway 12, extending rearward; and to the rear side of the platformI may Vattach a bracket 13, adjacent the lowerends of these bars.

The upper.

ends of the bars 1l are connected together by a cross piece 14 and ther lower ends may be united in a manner which will be described later. The frame comprising bars l1 1s 5 caused to move forward just before the frame ever cans are Vdisposed in the machine out-Y 8 makes its stroke, and when the bars ll are so moved, the blades l0 are interposed between the cans which have entered the space between the stop 5 and member 6, and whatside of this space. Thus any more cans are prevented from moving past the member 6- until the frame 3 has pushed all of the cans directly in front of it into the Vbox for the. cans, which is placed on the arms 9;

stop; and as indicated in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6, the fro-nt edge of the platform l'may Vbe higher than the rear edge so as to eliminate all tendency of the cansv to move forward of themselves toward the box'on thearms 9. 1

The power for operating the machine is furnished by a suitable source; such as an electric motor l5 mounted upo-n one of the legs 2, and connected through suitable gearing to rotate a main shaft 16 in bearings beneath the platiorm l and extending along the length of the apparatus. This shaft transmits rocking motion to another shaft l?, mounted in suitable bearings adjacent the rear of the machine; and carrying a lever 18 connected to the frame 8, and a similar lever A19 united to the frame carryingthe blades l0. These levers are designed to rock as required to actuate the frame 8 and the blades l0 in the proper order.

We will now describe the chute 4 which receives the cans as they are fedinto the machine. This chutehas sides 20 extending lon-f gitudinally if the base l and spaced apart a distance equal to the height or length of the cans which are to be loaded. .These sides carry on their inner `faces rests 2l--spaced apart and connected with sloping ribs 22 leading to "trays 23. These trays are shown as four; but this number may be varied, and so may the number of rests 2l and rails or 5 ribs 22 to suit the capacity desired. The

number of pairs-of rests 2l is illustrated as three and the attendant feeding the cans into the chute may put them on each pair of these rests so that they run down along the ribs in three lines to the trays 23. A fourth line of cans can be handledV by means of the top tray 23 in which the cans are placed directly. The trays 23 have sides 24 and these sides may be extended as at 25 to enable the trays to be attached to the sides 20of the chute 4 at one en'd the trays being supported' arms 9. fThese trays`26 may extend fromthe rear side of the platform l toward the front as far as necessary so as to be in proximity to the open top or mouth of the case in which the cans are to be delivered and the case may project in between the stop 5 and member 6, so as to enable the loading to be performed in the most expeditious manner. The stop 5 may carry supports 28 for'the trays 26, and similar supports may be attached to the member 6 for thetrays 26 and 23. The top of the platform l between the stop 5 and member 6 serves for the lowermost tiers of cans and no tray 26 is placed thereon `in line with the lowermost tray 23, but the platform may have a rib 29 along the rear edge between the stop 5 and member 6 for the same purpose as the rear edges 27 of Vthe trays 26. The top tray 23 may have its sides extended by means of plates or bars 30. Hence as the cans are fed into the machine they all roll down on the trays 26 and the top of the platform l between the stop 5 and member 6; and when the `pusher frame is actuated the cans are all moved forward and' pushed off the trays and platform l; the cans of the upper tiers as soon as they leave the trays 26 r-esting -upon and being supported by the cans below them.

The frame 8 comprises a number of transverse horizontal bars 31 at the forward end thereof; and these bars act as pusher bars to engage the rear ends of the cans when the frame S'thrusts the cans out from between the stop 5 and member 6.

Attached to the front of the platform between the stop 5 and member 6 is a bar 32 to which are attached can guides 33. These guides have their ends secured to the bar 32 and are bent into the form shown in F igure 3; being mount-ed so that they are between the'lowermost cans as the latter are pushed off the platform. The guides 33 may be made fast inthe bar 32 by means of binding screws 34; and this bar is held on the base l by suitable bolts 35. Gn the arm 9,1 may put a table plate 36 for the more eflicient support of the boxes or cases into which the cans are pushed by the frame 8. The can guides 33 serve the purpose of spacing the bottonicans properly as they are pushed from the space between the stop 5 and member 6; and as these guides' are rounded they make contact with each can at only one point. Hence unnecessary friction is avoided.

We have shown-on Figure l of the drawings only the lowermosttier of cans,`in dotifo and-dash lines, but of course the three trays above this tier of cans will also be filledand unloaded'with the cans on the platform 1'.

The' part 12 attached to the topoff'the member 6 may be a piece'of angle irongand may have aired tothe under surface of its top a plate 37, spaced from the vertical -web of this angle bar so as to provide a guideway for the cross-bar 14 at the tops of the bars 11. The lower ends ofthese bars are united by a cross-bar 38 carrying rollers 39. j To the side of the bracket 13 may be aiied a bar 40 having cam recesses 41 andthis bar may have an overturned top edge vr42providing a traclr forthe rollers 39. rlhus as the lever 19 1s rocked, the blades 19 are moved'toward' the front of the machine; and thenv as the rollers 39 drop into the cam `recesses 41 the blades move downward; 1n this movement the blades are passed across each tier of cans, first moving betweenl the last can to reach the space between the stop 5 and member 6 and the next can of each tier -on its way to this space; but out of Contact with these cans. Then withV the'downward movement of the bars 11 as the rollers39 reach the cam recesses 41, the blades 10 are inserted between the. cansl of each tier which have passed upon the member 6; and the cans behind them. yThey influx of cans is then stoppeduntil the pusher frame 8 has cleared away the cans which are ready to go into the-box. The lower edges of the blades 10 will,rof course, be ground to an edge vto make them work more easily,

a pin 45, which enables it to be connected to an ojrierating bar 46, which is moved back and forth by means of cams onthe shaft 16. |This bar 46 is yoke-shaped, with the shaft 16 between the arms thereof; and it has at one end a slot 47 receiving the pin 45. Between ,Y

the arms of this bar is a slide block 48 (Figur-e 3) on the shaft 16, and the arms.' of this yoke-shaped bar'46 are connected at their ends by a cross-bar 49. The ends of the arms have stems 50 projecting therefrom through the cross-bar 49, these stems being encircled by springs 51 confined against the bar 49 by nuts 52 on the ends of the stems 50. On the bar 49 is a roller 53 and adjaand the cam 56 engaging the roller`53 to move the bar 46 to the right. While reciprocating thetwo arms ofl the bar' 46 slide along thetop and bottom of the block 48. rlhe cams 54 and 56 both have hubs 55, and the shaft 16 is mounted in bearings below the platj v form- 1 shown' at 58. These'bea'rings mayV be `anti-friction bearings; and additional bearings 59 are provided for the end ofthe shaft supported by the legs 2- and 3. The f bar 46 carriesbelow' the slotted'end thereof, a' hollowV projection 60 `carrying a. pin 61 yactuated toward the pin 45 by a spring 62.

This pin engages a notch 63 in the linlr 19 andthe projection carries a screw-thread.v ed closure plug 64 by which the compression Lof the spring 62 can be adjusted.

operated, or if 'the Vcans are not in the right The pin gi'.

Vticularly the cams 54 and 56' are improperly position', so that the blades 10 should strike the i p ends of the cans, instead of passingrbetween the cans, or. hit any other obstruction, dami age will be avoided; because then the pin 61 will slip out of the notch 63 and by reason of the presence of the slot 47 the bar 46 will move without rockingl the lever 19. Under certain conditions the connecting piece 49 will yield by reason of the presence-of the springs 51, if there shouldbe improper operation of the parts tending to throwthe vbar 46 in the opposite direction or to operate Yin the wrong manner the lever 19.

- The connections. between the lever 18 and the shaft 16 are of the same construction ,as those just described between this shaft and the lever 19; but the cams 54 and 56 for the lever`18 will of course beset at the proper angle, so that the frame 8 carrying the pusher bars 31 will be thrown forward by the -lever 18 after the lever 19 has been actuated to `put the bladesv 10 into their obstructing position, to prevent movement of any more ofthe cans from the trays 23 beyond the upright member 26.

The motor 15 is supported upon a platey etv lot.

65 attached to one of the legs 2; and its shaft 66 may carry a pulley 67 joined by a belt or shaft 69 carries a ysmaller gear joined by means of a belt or chain 71 to a pulley wheel or other gear 72 on the shaft 16. The gearing connecting the motor 15 to the shaft 16 operates of course to reduce the speed of the motor and turn theshaft 16 at the right number of revolutions per minute.

The frame 8 comprises two sliding bars 73 connected at their rear ends byv a cross" bar 7 4. f rlhese bars 73 move in 'guideways vorgrooves in the parts 7, and to the bars 73 are .y connected upright plates 7 5 to which are attached longitudinal arms 76, one above the other.

These arms extend forward as shown inv Figure 3, and support the cross-bars V31 at their front ends. The cross-bar 74 mounts bearings 77 to receive a shaft or piny 7 8 carrying an arm 79, connected to the lever 18 by a link 80. The arm 79 and link 80 mayhave a bolt and slot connection, so that the combined length of these two parts may bead- -justed. The upright plates 75 may be connected by bars 81 encircled between the plates by tubular spacers 82. There will of course be as many pusher-bars 31 as there are tiers of cans to be thrust into the boxes or cases on the table plate 36.

` or in the event that any of the cans get slightly out of position. l-lowever, l provide in addition a clutch which is designed for nor-.

mally disconnecting the shaft 16 from the gear 7 2 which is loose on the shaft, so that, to cause actuation of the apparatus, the clutch must first be moved and held in position to put the shaft 16 and gear 72 into operative relation.

For this purpose I provide the front of the platform 1 with a bracket 83 adjacent to the legs 2 and this bracket mounts one end of a rock shaft 84. The other end of the rock shaft is supported in a bearing adjacent the legs 3; and this shaft carries adjacent its middle part between one of the arms 9 an operating lever 86, which is fixed 'thereon so that movement of this lever 86 will turn the shaft. The lower end of this lever is attached to a trip push-bar 87 joined by a swinging link 88 to said arm 9; and there is a spring 89 attached to the arm 9 and the lever 86 and normally tending to move the bar 87 away from the platform'l. At its outer end this bar 87 has a handle 90.

On the shaft 84y adjacent the bracket 83, is a trip lever 91, pinned to this shaft 84; and at the lower end of this lever is mounted pin 92 having an enlarged head and encircled by a spring 93 between this head and the end of the lever 91. The end of this pin may be riveted ver so that it can not be separated from the trip-lever 91, but the spring 93 enables it to yield towards the lever 91 when it is pressed to the right with reference to Figure 5. This pin presses against a clutch latch 94 pinned to a trip cam lever 95 at 96, the lever 95 being mounted on a pivot pin 97 supported from the frame 9 of the apparatus.

AThis ltrip cam lever carries a roller 98 which 87 inward.

runs upon the surface of the cani 99 having a number of projections; and the latch 94 may project above the pivot pin 96 and be connected at its upper end to the lever 95 by a spring 100. The free end of the lever 95 may be joined by a spring 101 to the pvotpin of a clutch lever 102, this lever being pivoted at the lower end of the bracket 83, and between the pivot of this clutch lever 102 and a projection 104, on the bracket 83 is a compression spring 103. This spring engages the end ofthe lever 102 near the corner and normally acts on the lever 102 so as to tend to depress the free end thereof. The top of this clutch lever 102 is engaged by a stem or plunger 105 slidably mounted in a bracket 106 on the under surface of the table 111 and is forced down by a spring 107.

Cooperating with the gear-wheel or pulley 72 is a clutch collar 108 having a circular groove 109 to receive the end of the clutch lever 102. This clutch collar carries in a longitudinal bore a clutch pin 110 which is notched at 111 in its side and the clutch collar at one end carries a stop 112 to engage a spring` 113 bearing on one end of the clutch pin 110. This spring normally throws the pin 110 towards the openings 114 in the hub of the wheel 7 2, and cam 99, which is affixed to the gear 72 and can rotate freely on the shaft 16. lll hen the lever 102 is in the groove 109 and engages the notch 111 of the pin 110, the clutch 108 and gear wheel 72 are disconnected, so that the gear 72 and cam 99, which are loose on the shaft 16, can rotate freely on the shaft 16. This shaft is now stationary. Clutch collar 108 is keyed on the shaft 16. Hence the apparatus does not run, but whenever the shaft is to be connected, to set the apparatus into operation, the operator takes hold of the handle 90 and pushes the trip bar This action swings the arm 86, turns the shaft 84 and throws the trip lever 91 so as to press the pin 92 against the latch 94 and cause it when one of the projections of the cam 99 engages the roller 98 to be lifted by the trip lever 95, and thus raise the clutch lever 102 out of the groove 109 and release the pin 110. The clutch lever 102 may be recessed or have an opening therethrough from its upper side to its lower side to receive the lower end of the latch 94, the two ends of this recess are indicated in Figure 5 by numerals and 116; and whenever the lower end of the latch is pressed to the left (Fi 5) by the lever 91, it will engage an edge of this recess and raise the lever 102 to permit the spring 113 to shoot the clutch pin 110 into one of the openings 114 of the cam 99 and wheel 72. The power is now on and the wheel 7 2 turns the'shaft 16. Hence by merely pressing forward on the push-bar 87, the power is connected to the shaft 16, and by releasing the push-bar, the springs 89, 100, 101, and 103 will restore the parts to their former inoperative position, and as soon as.

comprising.':one` or more pusher bars to-.dis-

the collar carries the pin 110 up, the lever 102 runs into the notch 111, to pull pin 110 j out of the hole 114 filled by it to disconnect the clutch collar 1 08 from the gear 72. Thus any time the stopping of the apparatus becomes necessary the mere release of the bar 87 by the handle 90 will suffice. Lever 102 may have a cam projection 117 on its underface to run in the groove 109 of the clutchcollar 108. Hence when the operator lets go c of th-e handle 90 the loading apparatus stops and requires continued pressure on t-he handle to keep it running. When the handle is not pressed, the action of the cam 99 on the lever 95 does not lift the lever 102, because the latch 9d does not catch the edge 115 of the opening in the lever 102. This lever thus stays down, its cam end 117 keeping pin 110 withdrawn. When the apparatus is operated, the release of the handle 90 at once allows the lever 102 to drop into the groove 109; and as soon as the pin 110 is carried by the clutch around to the lever it is pulled back and the clutch 108 and Wheel 72 are then immediately disengaged. The whole machine then stops at once.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for loading sealed vessels into cases comprising a sloping platform having a receiving chute at its upper end and one or more receiving trays adjacent the lower end on which said vessels are passed from said chute, a blade for separating the vessels on each tray upon those arriving thereat, a pusher frame having a bar associated with each tray for discharging said vessels on each j tray, a main shaft beneath the platform, connections comprising rocking levers to operate each blade and the pusher bar frame in succession, a clutch for connecting said main shaft to a source of power, parts for keeping said clutch normally iii disconnected position, and parts comprising a push-bar adjacent one side of the frame and connected to control the clutch and enable power to be delivered to said shaft. V

2. Apparatus for loading sealed vessels into cases comprising a sloping platform having a receiving chute at its upper end, a frame comprising one or more pusher bars at the rear of said platform, the top of the platform being also inclined toward said frame, a second frame having one or more separator blades adjacent the pusher bar frame, connections for operating the pusher bar frame and th-e second frame in alternation, a clutch comprising a parts normally disconnecting said frames from a source of power, and parts adjacent the platform for controlling the clutch to enable power to be supplied to the appay ratus when desired.

ported at .the rear :of thev platform, a frame charge vessels fromxsaid platform, and aseoond frame comprising `one y.or more .separator l 4. Apparatus for loading sealed vessels into ,cases comprising a tablevr and a pusher ,bar frame. for --discharging saidrvessels from said table, a main shaft' beneath said table, a

4grooved clutchr collar iiXed on said shaft, a 1 pin for said collar having a notch `to coincide with said groove, a gear-wheel carrying a cani j loosely mountedy onlthe shaft the cam and gear-wheel havingfrecesses to receive theclutch pin, a lever having an end shaped to prevent the pin from connecting the clutch to the gear-wheel, and means comprising a lever.vv

and a latch for moving the first-named lever out of position so as to permit the gear-wheel to be connected to the shaft by said clutch collar.

5. Apparatus for loading sealed vessels inlto cases comprising a table having a receiving chute, one or more trays to which said vessels are passed, a pusher frame for discharging said vessels from each tray, a main shaft connected to operate said frame, a clutch collar and gear-wheel on the shaft, the collar being fixed to the shaft and the gear-wheel loose thereon, the collar having a groove and a notched pin and the gear-wheel recessed to receive the pin to connect the gear-wheel to the shaft, a lever having an end shaped to enter the groove and keep the pin out of engagement so as to maintain vthe gear-wheel disconnected from the shaft, a push-bar mounted adjacent said table, and parts coinprising an arm, a'lever, a latch and cain to lift the rst-named lever from the groove in the clutch collar and enable the gear-wheel to be vconnected to the shaft to transmit power thereto.

, 6. Apparatus for loading sealed vessels into cases comprising a table sloping from one end to the other, a canreceiving chute at the highest point of the table, the table also inclining from front to back, a pusher bar frame mounted to move from the back of the table toward the front to discharge the vessels therefrom, a frame comprising a pair of uprights carrying one or more separator blades mounted at the back of the machine, pivoted levers connected to the pusher frame and the frame carrying said blades, a main power shaft beneath the table, and'means comprising links and cams mounted on said shaft and connected to the levers to operate said bladesd T rear ofthe table at the opposite end, a main -vshaft and connections for actuating said frames, a clutch for connecting the main shaft with a source of power, said clutch being norhereto.

Amally disconnected, a rock-shaft extending along the front of the apparatus, an arm on said shaft, an operating push-bar connected to said arm, and parts comprising'levers, springs, a latch, and a cani on said shaft acting upon said bar being pressed by the attendant to cause the clutch to connect said shaft with said frames.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our invention, We have signed our names WILLIAM H. BRooKs. WALTER PAGE. 

